TMI Blog2020 (3) TMI 515X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence that every person shall be presumed to be innocent unless he is proved guilty by a competent court of law. Secondly, accused having secured acquittal, the presumption of his innocence is further reinforced, reaffirmed and strengthened by the Trial Court. For acquitting accused, the Trial Court observed that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. Thus, the opinion of the Trial Court cannot be held to be illegal or improper or contrary to law - The order of acquittal cannot be interfered with - appeal dismissed. - CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1204 OF 2004 - - - Dated:- 2-3-2020 - K.R. SHRIRAM, J. Ms. Heena Suvarnakar i/b. Mr. Kuldeep S. Patil for appellant. Ms. Shaina Pratap, Advocate appointed as Amicus Curiae. ORAL JUDGMENT : 1. This is an appeal impugning an order and judgment dated 23rd March 2004 passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sangli, acquitting respondent (accused) of offence punishable under Section 138 (Dishonour of cheque for insufficiency, etc., of funds in the account) of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (the said Act). 2. On 24th February 2020 since nobody was present in Court re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e evidence, acquitted accused. The Apex Court in Ghurey Lal V/s. State of U.P. (2008) 10 SCC 450 has culled out the factors to be kept in mind by the Appellate Court while hearing an appeal against acquittal. Paragraph Nos.72 and 73 of the said judgment read as under: 72. The following principles emerge from the cases above: 1. The appellate court may review the evidence in appeals against acquittal under sections 378 and 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Its power of reviewing evidence is wide and the appellate court can re-appreciate the entire evidence on record. It can review the trial court's conclusion with respect to both facts and law. 2. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The accused possessed this presumption when he was before the trial court. The trial court's acquittal bolsters the presumption that he is innocent. 3. Due or proper weight and consideration must be given to the trial court's decision. This is especially true when a witness' credibility is at issue. It is not enough for the High Court to take a different view of the evidence. There must also be substantial and compelling reasons for holding ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ption is strengthened by the order of acquittal passed in his favour by the Trial Court. The Apex Court in Ramesh Babulal Doshi V/s. State of Gujarat 1996 SCC (cri) 972 has held that if the Appellate Court holds, for reasons to be recorded that the order of acquittal cannot at all be sustained because Appellate Court finds the order to be palpably wrong, manifestly erroneous or demonstrably unsustainable, Appellate Court can reappraise the evidence to arrive at its own conclusions. In other words, if Appellate Court finds that there was nothing wrong or manifestly erroneous with the order of the Trial Court, the Appeal Court need not even re-appraise the evidence and arrive at its own conclusions. 7. At the cost of repetition, complainant s case he lent ₹ 90,000/- to accused because accused was in need and in repayment of loan of ₹ 90,000/- accused gave a cheque bearing no.115796 on 19th April 1997. But the indisputable fact is that in Exhibit 46, which is the promissory note, the same cheque number 115796 is referred to and the promissory note is dated 30th September 1995. Therefore, it is quite clear that the cheque was given on 30th September 1995 otherwis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the truth. The observations of the Hon ble Supreme Court in S.P. Chengalvaraya Naidu V/s. Jagannath (Dead) by LRS (1994) 1 SCC 1 are relevant in this context. The Court observed : The Courts of law are meant for imparting justice between the parties. One who comes to the Court must come with clean hands .. We have no hesitation to say that a person whose case is based on falsehood, has no right to approach the Court. He can be summarily thrown out at any stage of the litigation. The Apex Court also observed in paragraph 6 of the said judgment that : A fraud is an act of deliberate deception with the design of securing something by taking unfair advantage of another. 11. The Apex Court and this Court have, on many occasions, stated that if a party comes to the Court with unclean hands, which in this case plaintiffs have, the party should be dealt with very strongly and substantial costs also should be imposed on the party. The conduct of complainant intends to impede and prejudice the administration of justice. Judiciary is the bedrock and handmaid of orderly life and civilized society. In Sciemed Overseas Inc. V/s. BOC India Ltd. 2016 ALL SCR 370 , the Apex Co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y life. Truth constituted an integral part of the justice delivery system which was in vogue in the pre- Independence era and the people used to feel proud to tell truth in the courts irrespective of the consequences. However, post- Independence period has seen drastic changes in our value system. The materialism has overshadowed the old ethos and the quest for personal gain has become so intense that those involved in litigation do not hesitate to take shelter of falsehood, misrepresentation and suppression of facts in the court proceedings. 2. In the last 40 years, a new creed of litigants has cropped up. Those who belong to this creed do not have any respect for truth. They shamelessly resort to falsehood and unethical means for achieving their goals. In order to meet the challenge posed by this new creed of litigants, the courts have, from time to time, evolved new rules and it is now well established that a litigant, who attempts to pollute the stream of justice or who touches the pure fountain of justice with tainted hands, is not entitled to any relief, interim or final. On the ground that complainant did not come with clean hands to the Court, this appeal require ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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